BookFooddoesn’tmagicallyappearonourtables.Thisbookprovidesaglimpseatthehardworkanddedicationittakestoproducefood.“BeforeWeEat:FromFarmtoTable”takesusonajourneytoseethemanyworkersinvolvedinprovidingthefoodweeat.
HowtheProjectWorksØ FFAMembersreadtostudentsinK-5classrooms
andcompletesasimplehands-on-activitywiththestudents(totaltimeapproximately45minutes)
Materialsneeded:Ø 6brownpapergroceryorlunchbagswiththe‘F
words’ofagriculturetapedtothefrontØ printedcareercardsØ printedCareerClusterGuide
Part1:Introduction(SUGGESTEDTIME:5MINUTES)1.Brieflyintroduceyourselfanddiscussyourconnectiontoagriculture.Ifyouweren’tinvolvedwithagriculturepriortoFFA,explainwhatFFAhasdoneforyouorwhatyoulookforwardtodoingthroughFFAactivities.2.Ifyouliveonafarmorranch,youmaywanttobringprops,cropsamplesorphotosofthefarm,equipment,animalsorFFAactivities.3.Askstudentsaquestionaboutagriculture.(Whatdoesthewordagriculturemean?Wheredoesyourfoodcomefrom?Whogrowsyourfood?)
Part2:WordsofAgriculture(SUGGESTEDTIME:10MINUTES)1. Introducethe‘Fwords’ofagriculture.Example:“Agricultureisabigwordandit
coversmanydifferentthings.Iamgoingtoteachyouthe‘Fwords’ofNewMexicoagriculturetohelpyouunderstandagricultureinourstate.
“Thefirst‘F’isFarming…”Placeabrownpapergrocerybagwiththat‘Fword’onatableafteryouhavedescribedtheword.Leavebagsontablewhileyoureadthebooksothattheyareavailableforthecareercardactivity.The‘Fwords’ofagricultureare:§ Farmingandranching–raisingcropsandanimalstofeedallofus§ Food–foodforusandouranimals;e.g.dairy,onions,pecans,alfalfa,etc.§ Fabric–wool,cotton§ Flowers–nurseries,greenhouses§ Forestry–lumberforhomes,Christmastrees§ Fuel–Ethanol(madefromplantmaterialsuch
ascorn)andbiodiesel(adiversemixofrawmaterialsincludingrecycledcookingoil,soybeanoilandanimalfats).
*Askifthereareanyquestionsaboutthe‘Fwords.’
Before We Eat From Farm to Table
AgLiteracyProjectwithFFA
Checklistü Collectteacherevaluationafter
thepresentation.ü Completetheattachedfeedback
formonceyouhavecompletedproject.
CommonCoreStandards-EnglishK.RI.1 2.RI.1 4.RI.11.RI.1 3.RI.1 5.RI.1
HandyResource:FWordsofAgriculturePosterfoundatnmaitc.orgwith“WhoGrewMySoup?’Project
Part3:BookReading(SUGGESTEDTIME:10minutes)1.Introducethestory.Forexample,“Iamgoingtoreadastoryaboutthepeopleinagriculturewhoareinvolvedintogettingfoodtoourtables.”2.Showoffthegreatimagesinthebook.3.PRACTICEreadingthebookbeforeyourclassroomvisit!Timeyourself.4.Becomefamiliarwiththedifferentcareersinthebookandonthecareercards.
Part4:TransitionActivity-(SUGGESTEDTIME:5MINUTES)1.Afterreadingthebook,followupwithquestionssuchas: “Whoshouldwethankforourfood?”2.Reiteratethecareersthatareimportanttobringfoodandresourcestoourschoolsandhomes(lastpageofthebook).3.Ifthestudentshavebeensittingforawhile,itisbeneficialtocreatesomephysicalmovementsotheycanfocusonthenextactivity.Presentersshouldpickthreetofourofthecareersinthebookandcomeupwithamovementthatthepersoninthatcareermightdo.Forexample:
§ Farmer:Hoeingweedsordrivingatractor(pretendyouarehoeingordriving).§ Rancher:Feedinganimals(pretendyouarethrowinghaytocowsoremptyinga
bucketoffeedforpigs).§ Fisherman:Fishing(pretendyouarecastingafishingline)§ TruckDriver:Driving(pretendtobesteeringabigtruck)§ GroceryStoreClerk:Checkingoutgroceries(pretendtoscanitemsforpricesorput
intobags)§ Cook/Baker:Cooking(pretendtoknead/rolloutdough)
4.Havestudentsrepeattheselectedmovementsthreeorfourtimesbeforemovingintonextactivity.
HelpfulHintsBeforeYourClassroomVisit• Wearofficialdress.ItlookssharpandpromotesFFA.• Practice!Preparebyreadingbookandpracticingactivity.Youwanttofityourpresentation
andactivitywithinthetimescheduled.Teachershaveverybusyschedulessopleasetrytosticktoyourallottedtime.
• Checkinwiththeteacher.Ifpossible,beforeyourpresentation,brieflyvisitwiththeteacher.Shareacopyoftheactivityandaskiftherearestudentsthatneedspecialaccommodations.
• Caneveryoneseeandhear?Beforeyoustartreading,makesureallthestudentscanseeandhearthebooksotheywillbegoodlisteners.
• Movethebookaroundasyouread.Eitherwhileyouarereading,orafterreadingeachpage,movethebooksoeachstudentcanseethegreatimages.Thisisespeciallyimportantwithyoungergrades.
• Paycloseattentiontothestudents’mood.Movealongfastenoughtomaintainstudent’sinterest,butslowenoughforallstudentstothoroughlyenjoythestory.
• Mostimportantly,havefun!Enjoythiswonderfulexperienceofreadingaloudandteachingchildrenabouttheimportanceofagriculture.
NMAgLiteracyProjectSponsoredby:
Part5a:CareerAwarenessActivityI(SUGGESTEDTIME:15MINUTES)MATERIALS:
Ø printed career cards Ø printed Career Cluster Guide Ø 6brownpapergroceryorlunchbagswiththe‘F
words’ofagriculturetapedtothefrontPresenters may want to sort cards according to class size and age to make sure students have a variety of the ‘F words’ of agriculture represented. 1. Space the paper bags with the ‘F words’ of agriculture on them out so that there
is room for several students to place cards in the bags at the same time. 2. Younger students may need help identifying what career the picture represents
if they are unable to read the words on the back of the card. 3. Explain the activity to the students before starting: A. The presenter will hand each student a career card. B. Each student is to find the ‘F word’ of agriculture that best fits the career card
in their hand. C. After all students have placed their career cards in the bags, the presenter will
go through each bag and determine if each career belongs with that ‘F word’ of agriculture. If the career card does not fit, place it in the correct ‘F word’ of agriculture bag.
D. There are several careers that could be placed in more than one bag. This lesson was adapted from Oregon Ag In The Classroom lesson “Agriculture Networking.”
Part 5b: Career Awareness Activity II (if time allows) 1. Shuffle career cards and redistribute to the students. 2. Tell students that the objective this time is to find (1-3) other classmates that they would most likely do business with if they had the job on the card they are holding. For example, a dairy farmer would need a milk truck driver to get the milk to the processing plant. Give students a few minutes to find who they might work with and then have each group tell how they would work together in the jobs that they have. This exercise shows the number of jobs needed to get food to our table!
Helpful Tip: Try to keep completed clusters together (see Career Cluster Card). There are 44 cards and 11 clusters of 4. If you know your class size, sort the cards ahead of time so that each card has at least one other card in the career cluster.
Part6:WrapUp(IfTimeAllows)1.Askifthereareanyquestions.2.Ifyouhavetime,reviewthe‘Fwords’ofNewMexicoagriculture.3.Leavethebookwiththeteacher.Collecttheteacherevaluation.
QUESTIONS:ContactNewMexicoAgInTheClassroomwithanyquestionsyoumayhaveontheAgLiteracyProjectortorequestatrainingsession.CherylButterfield [email protected] [email protected] 575-532-4714
Visitwww.nmaitc.orgforfreelessonsandresources.
2017“BeforeWeEat”AgriculturalLiteracy
ProjectParticipationForm
PleasecompleteandreturnthisformtoNewMexicoAgintheClassroom
Volunteer:____________________________________________________________MailingAddress:_____________________________________________________City:_______________________________State:_____ZipCode:_____________Phone:____________________________E-mail:____________________________ClassroomPresentations:
School
Teacher
Grade
#OfStudents
#ofFFA
Presenters
ProvidedTeacherwith
EvaluationSheet(YorN)
Pleaseseeotherside.
Commentsaregreatlyappreciatedaboutyourparticipation.Wevaluefeedbackthatletsusknowwhatworkedordidn’tworkorwhatwecoulddonexttimetomakethepresentationseasierforourvolunteers.
Pleasereturnthisformto:E-mail:[email protected]
Fax:575.532.4710or
Mail:NewMexicoAgintheClassroom533FourWindsDr.
Ft.Sumner,NM88119
2017AgricultureLiteracyProject
TeacherEvaluationForm
Presentation:“BeforeWeEat:fromfarmtotable”byPatBrissonSchool:GradeLevel:Presenter(s):Doyoufeeltheinformationpresentedhelpedyourstudentshaveabetterunderstandingofagriculture?(Ifyes,pleaseexplain.)Shareanycommentsonwhatyoufoundvaluableaswellaswayswecouldimprovethepresentation:
NMAgintheClassroomwww.nmaitc.orghasgreatresourcesforteachersandoffersfreeteachertrainings,workshops,andclassroompresentations.Pleasefeelfreetoprovideyoure-mailaddresstoreceivetheNMAgintheClassroomE-newsletter.Pleaseanswerthesequestionsusingthisscale:
1-StronglyDisagree2-Disagree3-Neutral4-Agree5-StronglyAgree1. Thepresentercommunicatedclearlyandeffectively.12345
2. Thepresentationwaswellorganizedandusedyourtimeeffectively.12345
3. Youwillusethelessons/activityinyourclassroominthefuture.12345
4. Thepresenter(s)invitedandansweredquestions.12345
5. IwouldparticipateinanotherAgLiteracyProjecteventagain.12345
Pleasefeelfreetocontactusatagclass1@nmflb.orgWereallyappreciateyourfeedbackandhopeyouenjoyyourbook.
Thankyouforyourhardworkanddedicationineducatingourfuturegenerations!
